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Café feels like home
There's no well-planned menu at Merrill's Checkered Churn, just
fresh, homemade food
By Ed Wodalski
Ask what's on the menu two days from now and Kitty and Gary
Gartmann, co-owners of The Checkered Churn in downtown Merrill,
would be hard-pressed for an answer. It's not a secret. They
just don't know. The menu, planned from a well-worn spiral-bound
notebook, changes daily and generally consists of soup,
sandwich, quiche and a wrap.
"This afternoon, we planned for tomorrow. And tomorrow, we plan
for the next day," Kitty said. One thing customers of the café,
frame shop and mercantile store can be assured of is that
whatever's offered, it will be fresh and homemade.
"We try to use what's available - fruits and vegetables," Kitty
said. There also are long-time favorites, like the T.B. Scott
Turkey Sandwich, named for the pioneer lumberman and library
that shares his name, or Merrill's Finest Roasted Corn Chowder,
a favorite of the city's former police chief.
"This is it. This is what we offer," Gary said. "This is who we
are. And if it works for you, that's great. We really enjoy your
business, but if it doesn't, we understand that, too."
As Kitty added, "We can't do 100 things on the menu fresh and
homemade. (But) we can do four."
On this Friday in April, the menu featured a pumpkin pear pecan
ham sandwich, sassy veggie wrap, bacon triple-cheese quiche and
seafood vegetable chowder. For dessert there's chocolate chip
cheesecake bar and a hot elephant vanilla chai tea specialty
drink.
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Nekoosa stone maker builds for the future
By Lori Kaye Lodes
When Dale Einerson left a nearly 30-year-career that culminated
in executive work for a worldwide consumer products company to
venture out on his own, he had no guarantees of success.
But it appears that choosing a career in architectural stone -
as the owner of Wisconsin Pride Stone Manufacturing in Nekoosa -
has created a very solid foundation for Einerson and the company
alike.
Einerson acquired the business, which has been manufacturing and
installing cosmetic and durable architectural stone for 20
years, in March 2008 with the assistance of Cornerstone Business
Services in Green Bay. Since then, he has faced a series of
adversities that no one could have fully predicted and yet, the
business is not only holding its own - it's thriving.
"There are always going to be surprises and challenges with a
new business," he said. "What I did was buy a business after the
longest recorded winter in history, floods that delayed
construction during the summer months, and the subprime mortgage
crisis. Now, Fox News is asking if we're headed for an economic
apocalypse," Einerson said. "The theory for me and the business
is that we now need to take a much larger slice of a shrinking
pie."
Einerson's frequent reference to that analogy appears to be a
self-fulfilling prophecy. He took a business that wasn't a
full-time endeavor by the previous two owners and saw an
opportunity to build on it.
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People Who Make a Difference
Wausau family serves area's needy
By Betty Wall
Feeding people is what the Wage family does best. Their
family-owned Wausau Mine Co. has been a well-known landmark
restaurant since 1980.
For the past 20 years, the restaurant has provided free Easter
dinners to thousands of individuals and families who would
otherwise not have an opportunity to enjoy a holiday meal.
Wausau Mine Co. owner Ron Wage first had the idea for the Easter
meal when he realized that many people in the community were
alone during Easter. He knew he could help people through the
kitchen resources of his restaurant.
Today, Ron Wage is retired but still is actively involved in the
Easter dinner. His son, Dan Wage, is happy to continue the
tradition. Dan and his sister, Jennifer Pauls, are partners in
the family-run business, and Dan's wife, Stephanie, also works
in the restaurant.
the idea for the Easter meal when he realized that many people
in the community were alone during Easter. He knew he could help
people through the kitchen resources of his restaurant.
Today, Ron Wage is retired but still is actively involved in the
Easter dinner. His son, Dan Wage, is happy to continue the
tradition. Dan and his sister, Jennifer Pauls, are partners in
the family-run business, and Dan's wife, Stephanie, also works
in the restaurant.
"It was my father's idea," Dan said. "After about 10 years, the
business was doing well and he wanted to give something back to
the community. He recognized that Thanksgiving and Christmas
were supported by other organizations, so he thought Easter
would be a good time to provide a dinner."
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Growth Strategies
Clover Industries is on the move
By Amanda Lauer
For years, Mike Priebe had been looking for a company to
acquire. His background in finance and accounting and 15 years
working for Alcoa led him to search the markets for a
manufacturing business. When he ran across Clover Hydraulics &
Engineering, he knew he found the right fit.
"Clover Hydraulics & Engineering was a small company that was
servicing or selling product to some large, Fortune 100
companies," Priebe said. "They weren't doing any marketing, it
was all word-of-mouth, and I saw a good opportunity to grow the
company - to implement some solid business strategies that they
weren't pursuing."
Originally from southern Minnesota, Priebe is a licensed CPA and
has an MBA in finance from the University of Iowa. He purchased
Clover Hydraulics & Engineering in August 2005 and then
incorporated as Clover Industries. The facility was located in
Deerbrook, but Priebe decided to establish its headquarters in
Wausau.
"Being able to tap into a larger employment base was a big part
of it," he said. "Being able to recruit machinists, recruit
professional employees, and quite frankly, the space we had up
in Deerbrook was very small and we needed to expand. We found a
facility in the Wausau West Industrial Park which met our needs
and we didn't have to build a new building, which we would have
had to do if we expanded in Deerbrook."
The Deerbrook facility was recently shut down. "There was a
pretty long transition before we actually made the decision to
close it. We have incorporated the work there into what we're
doing.
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Hal Becker column
Tough times a good time to look at territories
By Hal Becker
During these tough economic times, companies start to look at
ways they can cut expenses. This could be the perfect time to
really look at your sales process. You may be able to increase
sales and the productivity of your salespeople and save a few
bucks on travel costs at the same time.
What I am going to explain in greater detail in a moment has
been around since there were salespeople selling their services
or products.
All companies. regardless of their industry can benefit from
territory realignment. The issues are - will management want to
start looking at realignment and how long will they monitor the
process if they do.
I can guarantee you this. If you follow through and stay
consistent and focused with time and territory management you
will see a increase in sales activity.
Salespeople spend way too much time not selling. Most of their
time is non-productive. It is either driving to and from an
appointment, doing paperwork or spending time in meetings that
usually are a waste of time (not my sales training of course).
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The List
Area's largest hospitals
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